Spring sports season’s success: The wrap-up and the three playoff teams

A successful spring season saw the Eagles pull off major feats, break records and send several teams to the playoffs.

Baseball

A difficult season left the Eagles with only five wins and a team ERA of 8.41 to show as of April 28. Rain delays and a grueling schedule made it difficult for the Eagles to get their feet off the ground, but pitching was the team’s biggest downfall.

Junior shortstop Davis Murray led the team with an impressive .370 batting average with 21 runs and 27 runs batted in. Sophomore second baseman Mike Santello also scored 21 runs while posting a .416 on-base percentage. Sophomore catcher John Montague knocked in 19 runs to go along with a .342 slugging percentage.

Softball

After narrowly missing out on the PAC playoffs last season, this year’s softball team pushed their way into the fifth seed entering the postseason. Among the team’s more exciting accomplishments of the season were a win over Cabrini – their last victory over Cabrini was in 1989 – and a win over Misericordia, who finished the season with only three conference losses.

The Eagles finished their season 12-10 in the PAC, earning them another crack at Cabrini in the first round of the playoffs on May 2.

Men’s Lacrosse

For seniors Chris Franklin and Ben Peddicord, their lacrosse careers at Eastern could not have come to a more fashionable end. Coming to Eastern four years ago with plans to play on the team, Franklin and Peddicord were met with the announcement that the school would be cutting the team and switching its status to that of a club.

Now, in only the second year since the lacrosse team has officialy returned, they have made it into the PAC playoffs with a group of players almost entirely composed of underclassmen.

“We’re really excited [about the playoffs],” Head Coach John Levis said.

In their first round of the PAC playoffs, the Eagles will host top-seeded Cabrini. In their only meeting of the season, the men’s lacrosse team struggled against Cabrini, falling 19-4. Coach Levis hinted that the team did not give away all of their secrets in the first game against Cabrini and that his players will be giving it all they have in their first game of the tournament.

This is the first time in school history that the men’s lacrosse team has made the PAC playoffs.

Women’s Lacrosse

One statistic that is next to unbelievable is the combined number of goals scored between senior Kate Hoy and sophomore Jesse Basch: 126. In leading the women’s lacrosse team to a second seed in the PAC playoffs, Basch and Hoy also gained national recognition for their individual accomplishments.

With a 9-1 PAC record, the Eagles have earned themselves a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

“The likelihood of our making it to the finals is very good,” Head Coach Camrin Azzarano said. “Skill-wise, we’re right there with them [top-seeded Cabrini].”

The women’s lacrosse team cruised through their season, not finding much competition within their own conference. In their regular season finale against Lycoming, a non-conference match, the team brought home an impressive victory, winning 14-12.

“I think that because of how close we’ve become, that’s made a big difference in our success this year,” Basch said.

Men’s Tennis

Individually, the members of the men’s tennis team were able to accomplish several feats this season, but the team itself was only able to put together a 3-5 PAC record. In the PAC Championships, the Eagles sent six players to the semi-finals of the tournament. Unfortunately, the semi-finals were the end of the road for Eastern’s tennis team this season.

Senior Nate Seifert advanced to the semi-finals of the PAC Championships in both singles and doubles. Also advancing to the semi-finals were senior Eric Sauder, juniors Eric Walter and Jon Falcone and first-year Case Ronan.

Golf

With a team that included four first-year golfers, the Eagles did their fair share of growing this season. In the PAC Championships, the team finished the first round in 5th place with a combined score of 346. Adam Rogers and Drew Krupp both finished in the top 20.